Citizen Patriot | Nick DentamaroAshley Smilowski stretches out to touch a tree during the JROTC class through the Jackson Area Career Center.

Kortney Smith was 9 when the planes crashed into the Twin Towers on Sept. 11.

Smith said at that age, she did not understand what she was seeing on TV, but she knew she wanted to do something about it.

“After 9/11, I just wanted to be a soldier,” said Smith, now a specialist in the U.S. Army Reserve. “I just looked at soldiers and I thought they were famous people, I thought they were heroes, and I wanted to do that.”

Retired Lt. Col. Curt Lapham, who co-founded the Army Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program at the Jackson Area Career Center in 2004, said Smith’s response is not uncommon.

“Since 9/11, our young people are motivated to make a difference,” Lapham said. “It makes me confident about our next generation.”

Lapham said the program started with 60 cadets and now has 154, the most ever. He said students are drawn to the program because it enables them to explore military careers and helps them prepare for college. All but one of the 51 seniors who graduated last year went into the service or to college and the remaining one is a corrections officer, he said.

Smilowski, 18, graduated in June from Hanover-Horton High School and is now in basic training in Missouri to be a military police officer.

Smilowski said her late grandfather, Edward Smilowski, who served in the Navy during World War II, inspired her to join the military. Smilowski said her grandfather, who died a year ago at age 83, was apprehensive about her going into the service but was proud of her.

Smilowski said she learned a lot about duty in the Junior ROTC, where she rose through the ranks by taking on more responsibilities and earned several awards.

“It gave me a lot more confidence,” Smilowski said.

Smilowski, who has committed to eight years in the Army, five in active duty, said being in the service has also given her more career options.

“I could be an MP. I could be a cop. I could pursue my dream of working with animals and be a veterinarian,” Smilowski said. “It’s a good way to start.”

Smith, 19, a 2010 graduate of Hanover-Horton High School, said she joined the reserves two years ago because she could not wait until she was 18 to join the Army.

Smith, who works as a security officer, is an MP in the reserves and plans to go on active duty when her commitment is up in four years.

“My goal is to serve my country with honor and the very best of my abilities and capabilities and hopefully be a leader of soldiers,” Smith said.

Citizen Patriot | Nick DentamaroA tear rolls down Ashley Smilowski's face as she hugs her friend Sarah Merrill while Darcey Ambs looks on. July 31 was the last day Smilowski saw her friends and family before heading off to the military.

Cadet 1st Sgt. Ollie Wilkie, 18, a senior at Jackson High School, and Cadet 1st Lt. Jordon Owens, 17, a senior at Napoleon High School, are still learning about leadership but learning fast.

Wilkie, the senior noncommissioned officer in his company, plans to study criminal justice and law enforcement at the University of Michigan after he graduates. He also plans to play football at Michigan and dreams of playing in the NFL.

“The instructors here have shown me I can do whatever I believe,” Wilkie said.

Owens, who is in charge of 60 cadets in his company, hopes to receive an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.

Owens said he did not see himself as a career officer when he started the Junior ROTC program, but Lapham, who nominated him for the academy, did and gave him the push he needed.

Owens recently spent a week at the academy and said he believes what he has gained from Junior ROTC gives him an edge to get in.

“This is the greatest program,” Owens said. “Whatever you put into it, you get out of it.”